Searching for monarch eggs?

[Anne Kilmer]

Paul Cherubini wrote:
> 
> Daniel B. Wheeler wrote:
> 
> > I haven't seen a single monarch this year in Portland, OR.
> 
> Just goes to show that in spite of the fact that at least a few thousand
> monarchs have been shipped to Portland for wedding, funeral and school
> releases this past spring and summer, these deliberarely released
> butterflies are almost never seen by area butterfly enthusiasts.
> 
> > While searching ngs for monarch egg sources, I found a posting here.
> > Anyone know of a source?
> 
> You could take a 1 hour drive out to Hood River, Oregon and search
> along the main railway line 3-4 miles west of this city where there
> quite a few milkweed plants and also along the frontage road right
> next to the Columbia River in this same area.
> Monarchs are virtually guaranteed to be there. A broad leaf and narrow leafed
> milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis) grows there and the narrow leaf
> is especially likely to harbor monarch caterpillars. Neither species is
> very toxic.
> 
> > I have
> > found a couple of milkweed plants a few blocks away, and intend to dig
> > some up and transport this "noxious weed" to my backyard, where I
> > intend to keep it in a large container.
> 
> This won't work. The plants will die if dug up and transplanted at this time
> of the year. A better bet is to take a photo of the plants now and
> dig up and transplant the roots to your yard in Feb. 2002 - which is before
> the new growth sprouts from the ground.
> 
> Or you could go out to Hood River, OR in early September and harvest some of the
> the milkweed seed pods and plant those in your Portland yard next April.
> 
> Paul Cherubini, Placerville, CA
> 
> 
Allow me to add that the methods Paul recommends for adding monarchs to
your garden are absolutely uncontroversial, and can be endorsed by any
butterfly enthusiast.
Finding eggs and larvae .. and host plants ... close to home, on
wasteland; finding seeds and planting them; legal, moral, and likely to
be successful. 
You might, even at this late date, find milkweeds in your garden shop,
in pots? Worth checking and asking. 
But, as Paul suggests, you do want to get them locally. 
Cheers
Anne Kilmer
Mayo, Ireland

 
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